Methodologies and frameworks in government communication research

Abstract

The greater integration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) into our lives are pushing government agencies and ministries to adopt novel ICTs and further engage with the public via new media. Research on the use of ICTs in government, such as e-government, has focused on enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of public service delivery, and on promoting public engagement with government officials, with a recent focus on social media communications. However, social media are complex and problematic sites of engagement (e.g. algorithmic control, bots, hate speech, slacktivism) and political individuals and agendas can always impact how government agencies communicate with the public. This panel aims to discuss the various methodologies and frameworks in government communication research, including technological, political, and other relevant dimensions that need to be questioned. Government communication comes in speech and text, via formal documents, at events, and in brief social media posts. Communication may also be to inform, to express sentiment, or to avoid blame. The diversity of channels and contexts in which this practice occurs provides methodological challenges for its study. Moreover, given perspectives from communication, public administration, public health, linguistics, etc., theoretical challenges arise in how best to integrate divergent critical and administrative perspectives on this phenomenon. This panel seeks to discuss advantages and disadvantages of specific methodologies to study this phenomenon, and advantages or disadvantages of theoretical perspectives, while presenting several empirical studies on the subject. We particularly welcome insights into how to advance methodological and framework considerations in future government communication research.

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